MedSpa Bill Fails in California
A bill that could have shuttered a huge number of medical spas in California essentially expired after a failed floor vote in the state Senate and protracted negotiations over a competing bill in the Assembly. Introduced in February, AB 2398 made its way through the legislature with the support of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, and other groups. The bill would have revoked the licenses of any physician who practiced for a "business organization" that provided outpatient cosmetic procedures, because it would be considered a violation of the prohibition against the corporate practice of medicine. The California Medspa Management Association, the International Medical Spa Association (IMSA), and the Manufacturers of Equipment for Light-Based Aesthetics said the law would amount to restraint of trade and would "undermine a physician's right to make a living," according to a letter sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by IMSA.
FDA Warns on Laser Brush
The Food and Drug Administration has warned Sunetics International Corp. of Las Vegas that it is illegally marketing its Laser Hair Brush and Laser Skin Brush. The company advertises the products as laser devices that can grow hair and treat skin conditions such as acne and dyspigmentation, according to the FDA. The devices have not received premarket approval, which is required for any product making a claim to affect a structure or function in the body, according to the agency's warning letter. Sunetics did submit an approval application in January of this year, but it is still being reviewed, the agency said.
PQRI Frustrating, But Not Costly
A total of 90% of physicians answering a Medical Group Management Association survey said that they had trouble accessing their confidential 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's secure Web site. Overall, 70% sought CMS help in getting the reports; of those, 11% rated the help as not satisfactory. The PQRI reports received average marks for clarity and slightly lower ratings for providing guidance on improving outcomes. Even so, 90% of the practices said they would participate in the 2008 PQRI program. Survey responses were taken from 295 practices who said they had reported on PQRI measures from July to December 2007. When asked why they participated, the largest weight was given to preparing for the future, when quality reporting is anticipated to play a bigger role in Medicare reimbursement. Overall, 61% of practices earned a bonus from 2007. Most practices said that participation had not led to the need for more staff or higher expenses.
Genomics Collaboration
Pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. and the FDA have partnered to study genetic testing and the effect of genetics on prescription drug efficacy, according to Medco. The agreement extends to Aug. 31, 2010. Over the next 2 years, Medco will deliver a series of reports to the FDA that will address the safety of prescription drugs, physician participation in pharmacogenomics testing, the usefulness of the tests in prescribing, and the quantifying of prescription information that contains genetic information. Medco said its reports will be derived from clinical settings, including one that will examine whether physicians are willing to change the dose of a prescription based on a genetic test result. "Studying this field can advance pharmacy care to remove some of the trial and error in how medications are prescribed," Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco chief medical officer, said in a statement.
Uninsured Spend $30B on Care
Americans who lack health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health services, and also will receive $56 billion in uncompensated care while uninsured, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs. Government programs will pay about $43 billion for the uncompensated care, the researchers reported. Compared with people who have full-year private health care coverage, people who are uninsured for a full year receive less than half as much care but pay a larger share out of pocket, the authors reported. Someone who is uninsured all year would pay 35% (or $583 on average) out of pocket toward average annual medical costs of $1,686, the study said. In contrast, the annual medical costs of the privately insured average $3,915, with 17% (or $681 on average) paid out of pocket, according to the study.
Health Searches Level Off
The number of adults going online for health information has plateaued or declined, according to a Harris Interactive poll. According to the pollster, a total of 150 million people (66% of all adults and 81% of those who have online access) said they obtained health information from the Internet in 2008. That represents a slight drop from 2007, when the poll found that 160 million people reported obtaining health information online. The researchers noted that the slight differences from 2007 to 2008 are within the possible sampling error. But they pointed out that, as opposed to other years, it appears that there has been no increase in the total number of people with Internet access or in the number of people searching for health information—those the pollsters called "cybercondriacs"—which indicates that a plateau or even a slight decline was underway. Just under half of cybercondriacs said that they had discussed the information they obtained online with their doctors, and 49% had gone online to look for information as a result of discussions with their doctors, the survey found.